Hundreds of Glasgow council staff reject equal pay offer

Hundreds of Glasgow City Council staff have rejected equal pay offers amounting to thousands of pounds, despite the promise of being paid before Christmas.

At least 260 have turned down the offers in favour of taking their claims to industrial tribunals, according to the Glasgow Evening Times. And legal firm Action 4 Equality said the list is getting longer, the newspaper reports.

Around 11,000 workers are involved in the equal pay dispute, including female care assistants, home helpers, cleaners, school cooks, classroom assistants and school office staff.

Glasgow is the first of Scotland’s 32 local authorities to agree a compensation package with unions, under the government’s single status initiative.

The offer represents back-pay over a five-year period from 1999, and the deals range from £1,000 to a maximum of £9,000.

Irene Graham, Glasgow City Council’s equality spokeswoman, said this Friday was the deadline for accepting the offer.

“So far, more than 90% have accepted,” she said. “We believe the offer is reasonable in the circumstances.”